


inseparable (把我们衣服纽扣互扣)

by luneist



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, if best read their conversations in chinese, inspired heavily by kimberley chen's AINI mv, just something i really want to write hahaha, renjun and xuxi are mannequins, they only have 10 minutes per day i know its sad, unusual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 12:16:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14811206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luneist/pseuds/luneist
Summary: renjun and xuxi are mannequins, and they only are given 10 minutes to spend with each other. they have always talked through telepathy, and promised each other to never separate. but what happens when xuxi is taken away from the shop?





	inseparable (把我们衣服纽扣互扣)

renjun has been in this shop for as long as he can remember, but he isn't capable of changing any part of that. it's just god who placed him into this group of unique and unusual people. renjun doesn't know if one can call them hybrids, but all he knows that they're mannequins for most of their lives and every day, 10 minutes is given to them to walk around, explore the world and understand what's going on. it always happens at 3PM, and renjun honestly wishes he can take pictures of the sunrise or sunset, but he can only witness the breathtaking process and the pulchritude of it. no, the chinese boy isn't ungrateful for those 10 minutes. to their species, it's already a lot and it's great to slowly understand what's happening in the world, instead of rushing forward in life.

the shop isn't bad, but it's not that good either. being unable to move, to only communicate through telepathy and watch all kinds of "normal" beings walk past them, hands of different sizes and quality browsing through the diverse range of clothes available. it gets lonely sometime, but observing is an enjoyment too, renjun thinks. the types of people who come strolling in arrogantly, hopping in happiness and rushing in with a hurried expression on their faces amaze renjun. it's as if he was a student studying the mannerisms of those "normal" beings, needing to understand.

renjun does wish he was a "normal" being as well, having the ability to move around to his own accord and just go round the world, and explore every single part of it. he's sure he's already in love with the entire geography of the world without knowing a single bit of it. imaginations are the things that add to his thirst to travel, but it benefits him. the only views he have seen are the shop, that street outside of the shop itself and sometimes, an unclear view of the sun rising and the same huge yellow ball setting. he really wants to get his hands on a camera, take  picture and just keep it with him. renjun really does. 

luckily, with xuxi, renjun hasn't been lonely for a long time. it's safe to say that renjun is extremely grateful for xuxi's presence, and he thinks the taller mannequin's presence basically adorns his life, as an embellishment. xuxi had been brought in the same time as renjun, and without fail, the two had created a strong bond and the chemistry was of course visible between the both of them. xuxi's lack of chinese language skills had made renjun laugh and giggle every time, and how multi-lingual xuxi was made his words simply incomprehensible, resulting in the taller guy wasting their precious time to explain. 

xuxi, is basically one of the tallest people renjun has seen up there. renjun, of course looks up to xuxi in any possible way. one, he has great respect and admiration for that courage and confidence xuxi holds within them, and the shorter guy won't hesitate to kill for those traits. he is of course fun and always bubbly, owning a personality that just screams perfect to renjun. two, xuxi is literally a whole 10 centimetres taller than the full chinese mannequin and not lifting his head up to make eye contact with xuxi is just utter bullshit. all renjun would see is cloth, but he wants to stare into that pair of eyes, of such beautiful colour and so deep that he wants to dive into it as if it was the ocean.

it really is safe to say xuxi and renjun live by each other's heartbeats, being that inseparable couple you see sometimes on the streets or a random restaurant. but, they aren't annoying. they mainly communicate through telepathy and considering the fact that they are part of the "abnormal" species, one would think the two mannequins are simply an adorable couple if they could actually see when time pauses for the "abnormal" species. 

today is tuesday, and there's barely anyone in the shop except for the staff who's probably busy with Audition, judging from the sound of keyboard keys being pressed on harshly. renjun can see xuxi standing in a pose from his peripheral vision, since almost 24 hours ago. darting his eyes around, a lady and her child come into sight, the child burying himself in his phone.  _kids these days_ , renjun tells xuxi through telepathy and he can hear the immediate response of a laugh from the mixed blood, and he only continues observing the other customers. nothing interesting, and it just bores renjun because there's still 3 more minutes to 3PM. yes, he indeed is an impatient mannequin and guy. 

 _how many more minutes to 3PM? i really want to talk to you verbally,_ xuxi's voice travels into renjun's ears and the latter tells him it's only a little bit more, although he is impatient too. any time now, really. renjun could feel the warmth of xuxi's hands, feel how big they are and look into those wide, alive eyes and just smile. in exchange, xuxi could bury renjun in his arms and just ruffle his hair, despite knowing that the shorter guy would hit him. they just wanted to have some interaction, not those that happened only in their heads but those where they open their mouths to speak or just share some touches. really, anything will satisfy both.

renjun stared into the blank space, simply staring at the few people that were on the streets. he doesn't know that it had struck 3PM until he felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist, something coming to rest on his right shoulder and by looking back, he sees xuxi staring back at him with those wide, beautiful eyes and realised those 10 minutes have started. "are you seriously going to waste our 10 minutes like this? time is precious, huang renjun." xuxi says, laughing when he sees that blush he was able to cause spread across renjun's cheeks. removing his arms to give the shorter boy some space, he straightens his back and looks down at renjun, almost laughing out loud. the other guy was staring with him with cheeks redder before, the colour slowly spreading to his face and xuxi is worried that he might actually turn into a tomato. renjun would be a pretty tomato though. 

"i wanna play Audition, go away." renjun says as he crosses his arms pettily, eliciting a whine from xuxi. part of him wanted to play Audition from the staff's laptop but he wasn't let that 10 minutes go to waste. looking over at the clock, he sees that 2 minutes have passed just from a few sentences exchanged and renjun feels like a part of him is empty already. with xuxi who still shows his pout, renjun reaches his hands out to pinch the taller's cheeks and smiles, "we can go do something silly or just talk." 

xuxi chooses to talk while doing something silly, saying it's only good to enjoy the best of both worlds. they approach a teenager, and renjun honestly wonders why he isn't in school but out here looking at clothes instead. "we should recommend him some clothes," xuxi says and proceeds to browse through the racks behind him, making a mess. renjun only giggles as he looks through clothes as well. they're simple but fashionable, something he think xuxi would wear if he needed clothes desperately. he remembers the taller guy complaining about how better clothes should be given to them and his taste is simply gucci. that made renjun burst out laughing. 

 _"我閉上眼睛,貼著你心跳呼吸. 而此刻地球,只剩我們而已. 你微笑的唇型,總勾著我的心."*_ renjun sings as he browses through the clothes, facing xuxi. he can see xuxi smile as he continues to browse the clothes, his smile so contagious and so bright then renjun's lips curls up into a smile too. xuxi stops renjun by walking over to his side, grabbing his face and staring into the pair of eyes he loved, "you're so cute. do you ever realise that? huang renjun, i'm so in love with you." 

the shorter guy only turns red and xuxi thinks he's even cuter with that blush spread across cheeks. it's as red as his lips, and there's huge urge that is rapidly growing in xuxi's stomach to kiss those lips, and it indeed is irresistible because what's coming for renjun next is a kiss from xuxi, the taller one's lips meeting his very own ones. of course, renjun is shocked and his eyes widen, the complete opposite of xuxi's eyes which are closed, enjoying every moment of this kiss. it takes a few seconds for renjun to recover from his shock and when he does, without further ado, he returns the kiss. 

it's heaven to both of them, and it makes them feel they're like on cloud nine. every part of it was a blessing, and neither of them wanted this to end. xuxi loved kissing renjun, not only his soft lips but his forehead, his eyelids, his nose, his cheeks since it was just so adorable and easy for him to do so. renjun, on the other hand, had to hold xuxi still and grab his shoulders to balance himself at the same time if he wanted to kiss the taller, but that only happened because xuxi wasn't going to give a kiss or was teasing renjun. it's all about the height. 

3.09PM. the first to pull away is renjun and he feels hot tears in his eyes, for whatever reason. xuxi only smiles and those hands never leave his face for the next moment. "why are you tearing up, idiot?" the taller one asks, gently wiping away renjun's tears that are threatening to escape with his thumb gently and the latter only laughs, tiptoeing to give xuxi a small peck. "there's only a minute left to 3.10PM. let's go back, and we can continue everything else the next day. okay?" 

"okay. remember that i love you." 

"i love you too." 

they go back to their places and 3.10PM comes, bringing them back to their usual life.

..

today is wednesday, a day since the kiss and renjun can still feel the kiss lingering on his lips. he's looking outside, through the glass window at xuxi who was outside of the shop, on the streets dressed in a pretty cute outfit. the staff had been asked to move renjun to the front near the glass window before knocking off last night and xuxi was to be moved outside, but the staff only moved him out in the morning, afraid of it being stolen. now, renjun only sat comfortably on a weird white box, having a closer view of the people while his poor boyfriend continued standing, but outside under the sun. he felt bad, and he could only see a part of xuxi from his angle, which was just bad. 

the time was 12PM, and people were rushing back and forth for lunch. queues were pretty long at that ramen shop he and xuxi found on one of their short adventures outside of the shop itself, and a lot of people were running, or walking quickly that at least 3 out of 5 people would hit each other when they walked past one another.  _would xuxi be alright?_ renjun thought as he watched the "normal" beings walk, paper bags and boxes in their hands. 

renjun's eyes landed on this guy riding an e-scooter, at a really fast speed. it was dangerous of him to do that, considering the amount of people wandering on the streets. it seemed pretty loud and renjun doesn't think anyone would be able to hear the guy if he asked for space to move. someone may get hurt, and it wasn't a good thing. focusing his gaze on the guy, he watched as the guy collided with another male, and in the process, they knocked over xuxi.

the first thing that happened was worry that filled renjun's whole being, and the sight of xuxi laying on the floor, legs bent in half made him scared. the two guys only tended to themselves and if he could, renjun would have shouted at them for being so careless. of course, the guys who collided and got hurt were more important than a mannequin but to renjun, xuxi was his everything. his playmate, his best friend, his soulmate, his lover, his oxygen.

renjun sat there, incapable of doing anything and yet he felt so guilty when nothing was his fault. he could sense the staff leaving the shop to throw his lunchbox into the dustbin outside, and hoped that the staff would go help xuxi. to his dismay, the staff got scolded and asked to remove the mannequin. now, it was anger that filled renjun. why was the staff being scolded when the guy with the e-scooter was the dumb one? can't he see that the street was so busy? why did he have to collide with that guy? and to add salt to his wound, the staff only apologised like an obedient dog and picked up the mannequin, looking at it twice before whipping out his phone to call someone.

 _are you okay? please tell me you are, xuxi,_ renjun tries to communicate with his boyfriend through telepathy but xuxi doesn't reply. he only feels pain searing through his body as the staff scans him up and down. he can barely see renjun from his peripheral vision, the pain so unbearable that he was almost blacking out. that guy knocked him over pretty hard, leading to this state. the other mannequin only sits there, worry still flowing through him as he observed the staff and xuxi. oh, how he wished it was 3PM now so that he could go over and help xuxi, kiss his injury and probably hit the two guys. 

but it was 12PM. renjun couldn't do anything. everything was up to the people to decide.

hopefully, the staff would keep xuxi in the storeroom till later than 3PM so renjun could go find the former when the time comes, but no. after a good 20 minutes of xuxi being left outside, still with his legs bent, a blue truck comes in and a guy comes down to pick up xuxi, putting him at the back of the truck and driving away. panic fills renjun as the truck leaves, xuxi sitting at the back of it, eyes almost lifeless.  _no, this isn't happening!_ renjun tries to tell himself, wanting to move so badly and break free from these invisible restrains but god didn't let him. the truck gradually leaves his sight and xuxi is no longer anywhere near him. 

the panic only rises and renjun takes deep breaths to calm himself down, trying not to die inside. he can find xuxi soon, right? renjun remembers this white star shown on the truck, and it is something that can help him find xuxi faster. now, he just had to wait for 3PM.

..

3PM came and renjun decided to just run away from the shop, not giving a care if the staff wondered where and why did he disappear. he had a whole 10 minutes to travel, and he wanted to make the most out of it. remembering the direction the truck left, he sprinted to the empty street on his right, running past those unfamiliar shops they could have explored soon if that didn't happen to xuxi. he keeps running and running, his heart beating faster and the droplets of sweat rolling down his face.  _xuxi, if you can hear me, please respond,_ renjun uses telepathy, in hopes of getting a response as he carries himself to god knows where. he just wants to find xuxi.

but there's no response. xuxi is probably in too much pain to answer him. 

3.09PM, renjun sees at a clock placed outside a figurine shop. the mannequin doesn't know where he is, and all around him are unfamiliar buildings and sights. he continues running, in hopes of finding the truck but only to end up in an alley because the precious minute is over, and he can no longer move anymore. he looks around, and spots graffiti all over the wall. doesn't help at all. if he could cry, he would cry until he had no tears to left right now. 

..

thursday. day two.

it's 3PM and renjun runs again, in crazy directions and he takes so many turns that he has no idea where he is anymore. at the end of 10 minutes, he ends up near a bridge. 

..

friday. day three.

without hesitation, renjun runs to the empty space under the bridge. it does scare him a little, but the light that comes from outside helps him in his sight. at this point, he isn't even finding for the truck anymore. he's finding for xuxi. but if renjun can find the truck, he would get on it so that him and xuxi would be reunited again, and never separated. making use of the 10 minutes that just started, he tries to explore every part of the place and only spots a few garbage bags and something standing out. why would someone throw rubbish here there though? renjun still ran towards him and he almost cries, when he sees who is there.

between those bags, he sees xuxi, eyes showing his pain but it isn't as much as wednesday. he seems better yet he doesn't respond. but he doesn't notice renjun, and only looks forward. renjun walks over, reaching out his hand to touch xuxi and when it does, xuxi turns to look at him, lips curling up into a small smile. renjun's tears almost flows down but he doesn't let them do so, and shakily, he says, "i'm so sorry. i will never let this happen to you again."

xuxi doesn't respond but only holds his hand, his actions weaker than usual. renjun smiles, singing lyrics from the song he sang on wednesday.

_"我們愛情, 會一直沒有距離.."*_

and time freezes again.

\- end.

_我閉上眼睛,貼著你心跳呼吸. 而此刻地球,只剩我們而已. 你微笑的唇型,總勾著我的心._

_from kimberley chen's song AI NI (love you). translation: i close my eyes, stay close to your heartbeat, and breathe. after all, it's only us left on this world. the way you smile, always attracts my heart._

__我們愛情, 會一直沒有距離.._ _

__from kimberley chen's song AI NI (love you). the lyrics are cut off as the 10 minutes were up. translation: our love will never be apart.._ _


End file.
